Carton closing and flap tucking machine



May 27, 1952 J. M. SCHMIED CARTON CLOSING AND FLAP TUCKING MACHINE 4 She ets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 26, 1949 INVENTOR BY -%MZ ATTORNEYS y 1952 J. M. SCHMIED 2,598,135

CARTON CLOSING AND FLAP TUCKING MACHINE Filed NOV. 26, 1949 4 SheetsShee1; 2

, 33 INVENTOR J 0 sip/1M Jam/0 BY ZM ATTORNEYS May 27, 1952 J. ivl. SCHMIED CARTON CLOSING AND FLAP TUCKING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR \BSEPHMSCIIMIED ATTORNEYS I I: %t' 3:

Filed Nov. 26, 1949 May 27, 1952 J. M. SCHMIED 2,598,135

CARTON CLOSING AND FLAP TUCKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 26, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Just-PH]! JCHM/ED BY *Wu ATTORNEYS Patented May 27, 1952 CARTON CLOSING m5 FLAP meme MACHINE .l ose'pli same, Chara... 111.,

assignor to Packa e. Maq in rr fi h pany, East L n meadow; Mass; a corporation of Massachusetts appi'iatibn manta 26, 1949; Serial no. 129,613

6 Claims.

This inventionrelates to a machine for closnace ton avin p qsu' h' d a n longitudinal edge and provided along its opposite edge with a tuck-in flap. The tuck-in flap. when the carton closed, is positioned between the front wall of the carton and the car toncontents.

Mor pa t l aifli hen' i i n r lates to the means by which the positioning of the tuckin flap between the'front wall of the carton and the carton eomems is accomplished.

"Ihe principal objectof the invention is to provide a carton closing device of the above character which is relatively simple in construction andoperation A further object is to provide means for positioning the tuck-in flapof the closurewithin the carton without interruptingmovement of the carton through the ma in Other and further objects residing in the details of construction will be made appare nt in the following specification and claims.

In the accompanyin .drawings:

. Fig.- 1' is a side elevational view of the initial halfpof a machine embodying th invention;

Fig. 2 isa similar vi'ewof the other halfof such machine,- Figs. 1 and} togetherconstitutingja side elevational view of fnll length;

.Fig; 3 is a plan view of thecentral portion of thelmachine showing the instrumentalities" by The pack-ages are initially carried by the pushers between side guides l6 and beneath a pair of transverselyspaced; rotatable end flap closing members ll whichare timed to overtake the rear end flap 1' of the carton and swing it into horizontalposition, The forward end flap f has previously been engaged by the plate 18 to be folded thereby into horizontal position, and the rear flap r is retained under the control of folder l1 until it too has passed beneath the plate is. Further advance brings the top closure c, which has hitherto been positioned substantially in a vert icalposition,- into engagement with a stationary folder [9 which is transversely whichthe positioning; of the trick -in flap with views substantially on lines 5-5, 6-43 and !l of'Fig. 2; i V I M Referring-to the drawings,;l indicates-an elongated'ztable by which thevarious instrumentalities are supported. Extending longitudinally of the table is a conveyor chain l. carrying" spaced pusher members 3 which propel the-cartonsto be closed through the" machine; opsveyor chain 2; passes around end sprockets 4 and 5 respectively carried by shafts 6 and] The conveyor chain i s driven in any suitable manner as by sprocket chain 8 passing around a sprocket 9 secured; to shaft 1 and around a sprocket-l0 secured to a shaft I I of a gear reduction unit; generally indicatedat l2, and

driven from-a suitable motor l 3 b y a belt I l.

The boxes tobe closedare presented to the machine in any suitable manner to be br'oug'ht to rest ns a v ntwnal a lse 39 1 by whichthey are released to the pushers 3.

' curved to bend thetop closure along its hinged line into a position short of engagement with the" top oft-he carton. Theportion of the top closure adjacent the tuck-in flap portion t is brought by folder if! beneath inclined folding bar ls which carries the top closure 0 into fully closed position. As the; closure 0 moves to; the latter position it engages beneath a roll 2'3 (see Figs. 3 and 5). 7 While the main closure is held in positionby roll 2:0,;the outwardly extending tuck-in flapt is'engaged by fixed folding member zl which folds the flap against the outside of the front wall w of the carton, as best shown n. Fig; 5, the carton top at this latter point being held in position by a second roll 22'. Preferably; the flap t has been scored along the line of its attachment to the closure o and the effect of folder' 2| is to sharply bend and crease the tuck-in flap along such sco're line.

The effect of the mechanismso'far described has been to accomplish what may be termed a false closing of the carton with the tuck-in flap folded against the outside front wall of the carton; as shown in Fig. 5, this' false closing has however brought" the parts into positions relative to each other which are very close to those desired'in the properly closed'carton.

As the carton; advances pastroll 22 the tip portion23 of generally v sha'ped manipulating member 2'4 engagesfbetweenftheflap t and the forward wall w of the" box; and the forward motion of the c'artoncauses the rising edge 25 of the inner plate '26 ofjthe manipulating" membr to'engage the underside of the cover, as best sho'wn'in Fig. 6, and raise the cover to 'a'heighth to which'thelowerj edge'of the flap t clears the top'of thev'froiit wallw; witn' the parts in the position shown in1Fig; fiythefurther advance of tlijbox carries iti under the, forwardly extendm an or pf r ibni fil 5 1051 13 memb r, en-

erally' indicated "a't"29i As" the cover 0 and flap it pass beneath the portion 28 their leading portions are freed of the restraint of member 24 and the flap portion 2? is engaged and moved inwardly by a slightly inclined and inwardly offset plate portion 30 by which the transversely extending member 28 is supported. As best shown in Fig. '7, member 30 forces the flap t inwardly to a position in which the outer face of the said flap is in general alignment with an inner face of the front wall w of the carton, or slightly inwardly of such position, the upper edge of Wall 20 engaging beneath and being guided by the shoulder formed by the lower edge of member 33. At the same time, that edge of the cover to which flap t is joined is engaged by the portion 28 so that a compressive force is applied, by the upper portion of member 33, in substantially the plane of the cover, along which plane is the greatest resistance to deformation. The result is that the cover 0 and its flap t are very precisely controlled and maintained in the general relationship shown in Fig. '7. This control is maintained as the box is advanced beneath the downwardly portion 34 of the member 28 to insert the forward end portion of the flap 1? into the box as indicated in dotted line in Fig. 7.

Further advance of the carton brings the forward end of the cover 0 adjacent the flap into position where it is engaged by a narrow roll 32 (Figs. 2 and 3), which roll carries the cover 0 further in the direction of closed position and forces the flap t further into the carton. Still further advance of the carton brings the flap bearing edge of the cover beneath a second roll 33 which moves the cover to final closed position and moves flap t to its full depth within the carton.

The resistance of the material of the cover and flap causes the latter to tend to hug the inside surfaceof the front wall 20 as it is moved to final position. From the roll 33 the closed carton passes beneath cantilever plates 34 (Figs. 2 and 4) which extend to the terminal end of the machine and from beneath which the closed cartons are discharged by the conveyor.

The various rotating members previously described are driven from the shaft 1 by a sprocket chain 35 passing around a sprocket 36 on shaft l and a sprocket 31, Fig. 2, on a short transverse shaft 38 to which is fixed a gear 39.

Gear 39 meshes with a gear 40 secured on shaft 4| to which is fixed roll 33.

Roll 32 is driven from shaft 4| by means of a sprocket chain 42 trained around a sprocket 43 fixed to shaft 4! and a sprocket 44 fixed to shaft 45 to which roll 32 is secured. Shaft 45 carries a second sprocket 46 (Fig. 3) connected by a sprocket chain 41 to a sprocket 48 secured to shaft 49 to which roll 22 is secured.

Roll 20 is driven from shaft 49 by sprocket chain 50 trained around a sprocket secured to shaft 49, and a sprocket 52 secured to shaft 53 to which roll 20 is secured.

The rotatable folding members i! are secured to a shaft 54 carrying a sprocket 55 driven by a chain 56 engaging idle sprockets 51 and 5B and passing around a sprocket 59 secured to shaft 53.

It will be understood that the various chain drives may be maintained at proper tautness by suitable adjustable tightening sprockets two of which are indicated at 63 in Fig. 2. Also, as shown in Fig. 3, freely rotatable guide rolls such as shown at 6| and side guide plates 62 are positioned along the path of the cartons to maintain justment as shown in the drawings are not however essential to the present invention and therefore are not specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a carton closing device, means for advancing a carton having a closure hinged at one side thereof, means in the path of the carton for folding said closure to carton closing position with a tuck-in flap forming portion extending beyond the front wall of the carton, means to bend said flap portion downwardly into substantial parallelism with the front wall of the carton and outwardly thereof, means positioned to enter between the so-positioned front wall and fiap as the carton is advanced by the conveyor, said means having an upwardly inclined edge portion engaging the under side of the closure to raise the latter to a position in which the lower edge of the depending flap clears the upper edge of the front wall of the carton, means engaging the outer face of the flap to bend it to a position inwardly of the inner face of the front wall of the carton, and means engaging the upper surface of the closure adjacent its fiap carrying edge to force the flap into the carton as the latter is advanced beneath said last-named means by the conveyor.

2. In a carton closing device, means for advancing a carton having a closure hinged at one side thereof, means in the path of the carton for folding said closure to carton closing position with a tuck-in flap forming portion extending beyond the front wall of the carton, means to bend said flap portion downwardly into substantial parallelism with the front wall of the carton and outwardly thereof, means positioned to enter between the so-positioned front wall and flap as the carton is advanced by the conveyor, said means having an upwardly inclined edge portion engaging the under side of the clo'sure to raise the latter to a position in which the lower edge of the depending flap clears the upper edge of the front wall of the carton, a plate member engaging the outer face of the flap .to bend it to a position inwardly of the face of the front wall of the carton, the lower edge offsaid plate providing a guide shoulder engaging the upper edge of the front wall of the carton, and means engaging the upper surface of the closure adjacent its flap carrying edge to force the fiap into the carton as the latter is advanced under said last-named means by the conveyor.

3. In a carton closing device, means for advancing a carton having a closure hinged at one side thereof, means in the path of the carton for folding said closure to carton closing position with a tuck-in flap forming portion extending beyond the front wall of the carton, means to bend said flap portion downwardly into substantial parallelism with the front wall' of the carton and outwardly thereof, a plate member extending in the direction of travel of the carton and having an end portion positioned to enter between the advancing ends of the sopositioned front wall and flap, the upper edge of said plate member being inclined upwardly to engage the under side of the closure and raise the latter to a position in which the lower edge of the depending flap clears the upper edge of the front wall of the carton, means engaging the outer face of the flap to bend it to a position inwardly of the inner face of the front wall of the carton, and means engaging the upper surface of the closure adjacent its flap carrying edge to force the flap into the carbon as the latter is advanced beneath said last-named means by the conveyor.

4. In a carton closing device, means for advancing a carton having a closure hinged at one side thereof, means in the path of the carton for folding said closure to carton closing position with a tuck-in flap forming portion extending beyond the front wall of the carton, means to bend said flap portion downwardly into substantial parallelism with the front wall of the carton and outwardly thereof, a plate member extending in the direction of travel of the carton and having an end portion positioned to enter between the advancing ends of the so-positioned front wall and flap, the upper edge of said plate member being inclined upwardly to engage the under side of the closure and raise the latter to a position in which the lower edge of the depending flap clears the upper edge of the front wall of the carton, a second plate member engaging the outer face of the flap to bend it to a position inwardly of the face of the front wall of the carton, the lower edge of said second plate member providing a guide shoulder engaging the upper edge of the front wall of the carton, and means engaging the upper surface of the closure adjacent its flap carrying edge to force the flap into the carton as the latter is advanced under said last-named means by the conveyor, said second plate member forming a guide for the initial portion of the movement of the flap into the carton.

5. In a carton closing device, means for advancing a carton having a closure hinged at one side thereof, means in the path of the carton for folding said closure to carton closing position with a tuck-in flap forming portion extending beyond the front wall of the carton, means to bend said flap portion downwardly into substantial parallelism with the front wall of the carton and outwardly thereof, means positioned to enter between the so-positioned front wall and flap as the carton is advanced by the conveyor, said means having an upwardly inclined edge portion engaging the under side of the closure to raise the latter to a position in which the lower edge of the-depending flap clears the upper edge of the front wall of the carton, and a plate member engaging the outer face of the flap to bend it to a position inwardly of the face of the front wall of the carton, the lower edge of said plate providing a guide shoulder engaging the upper edge of the front wall of the carton, the upper portion of said plate member extending transversely over the adjacent edge portion of the closure, said transversely extending portion being curved downwardly in the direction of travel of the carton to force the underlying portion of the flap into the carton.

6. In a carton closing device, means for advancing a carton having a closure hinged at one side thereof, means in the path of the carton for folding said closure to carton closing position with a tuck-in flap forming portion extending beyond the front wall of the carton, means to bend said flap portion downwardly into substantial parallelism with the front wall of the carton and outwardly thereof, means positioned to enter between the so-positioned front wall and flap as the carton is advanced by the conveyor, said means having an upwardly inclined edge portion engaging the outer side of the closure to raise the latter to a position in which the lower edge of the depending flap clears the upper edge of the front wall of the carton, a plate member engaging the outer face of the flap to bend it to a position inwardly of the face of the front wall of the carton, the lower edge of said plate providing a guide shoulder engaging the upper edge of the front wall of the carton, the upper portion of said plate member extending transversely over the adjacent edge portion of the closure, said transversely extending portion being curved downwardly in the direction of travel of the carton to force the underlying portion of the flap part way into the carton, and a pair of rolls successively engaging the edge closure to complete the insertion of the flap in the carton.

JOSEPH M. SCHMIED.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,621,516 Milmoe Mar. 22, 1927 1,639,282 Bergstein Aug. 16, 1927 1,881,133 Rose Oct. 4, 1932 1,916,515 Kraft July 4, 1933 2,314,434 Toelke et al Mar. 23, 1943 2,472,521 Danenbauer June 7, 1949 2,514,867 Howard et al. July 11, 1950 

